Andrew Robinson stoney bowes esquire

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Andrew Robinson

STONEY

BOWES

ESQUI RE;

o

i

ANDREW
ROBINSON STONEY
BOWES.

THE following notice from the
" Local Records of Newcaftle-
upon-Tyne " may, not inaptly,
be quoted as a fitting introduc-
tion to the fubject of the prefent
memoir:—" Sept. 17th, 1760, died at his
feat at Gibfide, George Bowes, Esq., of
Streatlam and Gibfide, M.P. for the
County of Durham, which he had repre-

5

fen ted in the Parliaments of 1727, 1734,
1 74 1, 1747, and 1754. On the 26th of
this month his remains were depofited
in the family vault at Whickham, in a
grand manner, there to remain till the
chapel at Gibfide was finiflied (the firft
ftone of which had been laid a little before
his death), then to be removed and placed
in the vault intended for the future inter-
ment of his family. Mr. Bowes left an
only daughter, Mary Eleanor, sole heirefs
to an eftate of jT 600,000." She married
John, ninth Earl of Strathmore, who
affumed the name of Bowes, and died at
Lifbon in 1776, leaving his Countefs ftill
a young woman, with five children.

In addition to immenfe wealth the
Countefs was not only a pretty, lively,
and very accomplifhed woman, but fhe
had the character of being literary, and
with the recommendations of a fine houfe
in Grofvenor Square, a houfe and extenfive
gardens and confervatories at Chelfea,
her feats at Paul's -Walden, Gibfide, Bar-
nard Caftle, and the caftles of Streatlam
and Hilton, befides lands in Middlefex,

6

numerous fuitors foon appeared on the
ftage. The relater of this ftrange hiftory,
Mr. Jefle Foot, furgeon of Stoney Bowes,
fays that flie was reputed to be the beft
female botanift of the time, and fpent vaft
fums in greenhoufes, confervatories, and
curious plants, at her houfe at Chelfea. Her
houfe in Grofvenor Square was the refort
of many literary and fcientific men, and
in particular of naturalifts* Mr. Foot
defcribes her at that time as fcarcely thirty
years of age. " She poflefled a very
pleafing embonpoint. Her buft was uncom-
. monly fine. Her ftature was rather
under the middle clafs ; her hair brown ;
her eyes light, fmall, and flie was near-
fighted. Her face was round ; her neck
and moulders graceful ; her lower jaw
rather underhanging, and which, when-
ever flie was agitated, was moved very
uncommonly, as if convulfively from fide
to fide. Her fingers were fmall, and her
hands exceedingly delicate."

With great accomplifliments, and the
knowledge of many languages, flie became
by her pofition the centre of a fet of

bafe flatterers and defigners ; and the live-
linefs of her difpofition led her into follies
and extravagances that might have taken
effect in a ftronger and wifer woman.
She had troops of learned pretenders, and
even pretending domeftics about her.
Soon after her hufband's death, a Mr.
Gray, who had a fortune in the Indies,
aimed at her hand, and became an accepted
fuitor ; but Stoney Robinfon appeared on
the fcene. Mr. Gray foon was driven
from the field, and the Countefs became
the victim of the moft perfect villain
which modern times can boaft of.

This Andrew Robinfon Stoney was a
lieutenant in the army. He had been
ftationed at Newcaftle-on-Tyne, and there
contrived to win the hand of a Mifs
Newton, only child of William Newton,
of Burnopfield, in the county of Durham,
who inherited about ^30,000. He foon
haftened her out of the world by fuch
ingenious proceffes as pitching her head-
long down a flight of flairs, fhutting her
up in a clofet in her chemife (fome fay
without it) for three days, and feeding her

8

on an egg a-day, and by other modes of
torture, mental and phyfical, of which he
was an eminent mailer. Foot defcribes
him at the time he firft knew him thus : —
" The perfon of Bowes was rather in his
favour, and his addrefs was probably, when
young, captivating. His fpeech was foft ;
his height more than five feet ten ; his
eyes were bright and fmall — he had a
perfect command over them. His eye-
brows were low, large and fandy; his
hair light; and his complexion ruddy.
His fmile was agreeable ; his wit ready ;
but he was always the firft to laugh at
what he faid, and forced others to laugh
alfo ; his converfation was mallow, his
education was bare, and his utterance was in
a low tone, and lifping. There was fome-
thing uncommon in the connection of his
nofe with his upper lip. He could never
talk without the nofe, which was long,
and curved downwards, being alfo moved
ridiculoufly with the upper lip."

Having, as we have feen, difpofed of
his firft wife, he was on the look-out for
another, if poffible with a better fortune,

in the meantime amufing himfelf by the
ufual routine of men of pleafure — in gam-
ing, cock-fighting, horfe-racing, watering-
places, and the petty clubs in St. James's.

The gay widow of Grofvenor Square
now attracted his attention, and he deter-
mined to make a bold ftroke for fo
tempting a prize. The mode by which
he fet about this was one of the molt
remarkable and infpired efforts of de-
moniacal genius. He firft of all ftormed
the ftreet-door and ante-chamber, culti-
vated the acquaintance of certain members
of her household, corrupted them, and
engaged them in his caufe. The family
confifted of the Countefs, Mrs. Parifh,
the governefs of the children, Mifs Eliza
Planta, fifter to the governefs, con-
fidante to the Gountefs, and the Rev. Mr.
Stephens, juft then about to be married
to Mifs Eliza Planta, both in the intereft
of Bowes. The chief vifitors of the
family were Mr. Magra, a botanift, and
a friend of Dr. Solander, and Mr. Matra,
a conful at Barbary. Thefe, befides
accidental vifitors, were the dramatis per-

10

fon<e at the Temple of Folly in Grofvenor
Square.

Thus, by flattery, by gallantry, by every
poffible means, Bowes made his way to
the Countefs through her creatures. His
connection in Durham, by his marriage
with Mifs Newton, afforded him a plea of
introduction to the Countess's houfe. He
had no occafion to fay who he was, if he
could once get in and obtain an audience
in Grofvenor Square. To accomplifh this
object, he relied not a moment. He made
all the male literati his friends, and fecured
the fmiles of the female. The Countess's
companion, Eliza, was propitious to him,
and every ftratagem that the ingenuity of
man or woman could devife was reforted
to until he fucceeded in becoming one of
her circle, when he progreffed rapidly.
Perceiving that flie was of a romantic and
vifionary turn of mind, he got a conjuror
tutored to his wiflies, and planned with
Mifs Planta a party in which the Countefs
was to be included, to have their fortunes
told. He caufed letters to be fent to the
Countefs with the Durham poltmark on

is

them, purporting to be from a lady, who
complained that for the fake of the
Countefs he had forfaken her. In thefe
letters, fufpicion was hinted that Mr. Gray,
the accepted lover, was in the intereft
and fupported in his wifhes by the relatives
of the late Earl of Strathmore,' which
above all was calculated to alarm the
Countefs, and excite a jealoufy of their
interference ; and though thefe fchemes
fucceeded in a meafure to the extent of
his wimes, the mafter-ftroke was yet to
come.

Whilft he had been making thefe
advances, a fweeping attack had appeared
in the Morning Poft on the character,
purfuits, and affbciates of the Countefs.
Her whole life was analyfed and expofed
to the public, with the moft malicious
and irritating exaggerations. Vindications
were made by her friends. A vehement
and continued correfpondence took place.
Public attention was attracted, and the
friends of the late Lord Strathmore
fecretly rejoiced in it, becaufe they hoped
it would prevent her marrying again j a

12

ftep which, on account of the vaft pro-
perty in her own power, they exceedingly
dreaded. Thus the controverfy grew
louder, and the attacks on the character of
the Countefs grew fo intolerable that flie
declared that whoever would avenge her,
by challenging and fighting the editor of
that paper, fliould be rewarded with her

heart and
hand. At
this crifis
Andrew
Robinfon
Stoney,
who was
the fecret
affailant,
now dex-
teroufly

wheeled round and challenged the unwary
editor, who had been his tool, fought him,
contrived to be wounded, as well as to
wound in the affair, and received from the
grateful and unfufpe&ing Countefs her hand
at the altar, as a reward for his gallantry.
Thus this adventurer, by one of the moft

artful and audacious fchemes, ftepped into
the poffeffion of a fplendid fortune, the
enjoyment of the fole daughter, caftles, and
wide eftates of an ancient and illuftrious
line. Having gratified his vanity by re-
maining a while in town, where the vifits
of congratulation on his marriage were like
a levee, where cards in heaps were left by
vifitors in coaches, on horfeback, and on
foot, he proceeded to the north to rejoice
in his newly acquired eftates. Scarcely
had he arrived there, when the greedy eye
of the adventurer fell on the fplendid
woods of Gibfide, which were at once
doomed to the axe.

He felled large quantities of timber,
but merchants refufed to purchafe it, and
it lay and rotted on the ground. His
career was now fuch as might be expected
— extravagance and expenfe, tyranny and
meannefs. He got into Parliament for
Newcaftle ; he became high sheriff for the
county ; he attempted to rival ifi fplendour
the ancient nobility, at the fame time that
he was employing all his arts to raife
money, and to draw his friends, bankers,

I

anybody into his meflies to make a profit
of them.

After having given a few parliamentary
dinners to fome of the members and his
acquaintances, he quitted his houfe in
Grofvenor Square, and took up his refi-
dence at hotels. As to what he did in
Parliament, there can be no trace, for he
only gave filent votes. He had been
fortunate in having ferved the office of
fheriffjuft in time to be chofen, in 1780,
a member for Newcaftle ; and it is beyond
queftion, that he meditated ftanding for the
county at a future time, and had got fome
ftrong inter eft on his fide. He had alfo
made the purchafe of the Benwell eftate,
from the family of Shafto ; but this could
not have diftreffed him much, as he mort-
gaged it deeply ; and this he contrived to
keep to the day of his death, though
from that time to this he raifed money
upon the plea of lofing it.

He parted with everything he could in
town, fold Chelfea Houfe, and took the
family plate into his own poffeffion. He
raifed ^30,000 upon annuities. He in-

15

fured the life of the Countefs only for
a year or two at moll, by which he
fquandered away vaft fums. He went
directly down to Gibfide, and cut down
the timber ; the neighbours would not
buy it; the felled timber lay upon his
hands. He got the nomination of fheriff;
he opened early his canvafs for Newcaftle,
kept open houfe, and entertained the heads
of that town at Gibfide.

His dinners were good, and his table
enriched by maffive plate ; but there was
always a fmack of mean fplendour about
him, as he did not purchafe one fingle new
carriage, and his coach-horfes, originally of
high value, were never in good condition.
He took a chaplain into his houfe, and
always had fomebody about him whom
he made a butt of.

The expenfes he incurred by his
flirievalty, by his election and horfe-
racing, by his infurances and the purchafe
of Benwell, kept him in a conftant diftrefs
for money; and at the very time when
he wrote adulatory letters to his friend,
that he never mould be happy till he was

16

out of debt, and had fome to the good,
he went upon the turf and into an election.
His letters were literally the letters of a
hypocrite. He got as much from his
banker as he could, and when he could
get no more, he abufed him. He sold a
friend an eftate at a cheap rate, but a claim
remaining upon it, the bargain was all on
Bowes's fide.

Such was Bowes, and his general trans
actions ; but all this while what was his
conduct to the Countefs — to her who had
unwifely, but ftill moft kindly, admitted
him to a fphere and a fortune far beyond
his juft expectations ? It may well be
fuppofed that fuch a man would not be
more exemplary in his attentions and his
gratitude to her, than he was commend-
able in his other proceedings ; but Bowes
was—

" A tyrant to the weak, and a coward to
the ftrong."

He was fuch a man as Shelley defcribes
in " Rosalind and Helen," at whofe
approach the very children fell into filence

17 p

in the midft of their play, and who clapped

their hands and danced when they heard

that he was dead. He poffeffed the art of

tormenting as if he had learnt it under

the perfonal and efpecial inftru6tion of the

arch-fiend himfelf. While pretending

great tendernefs to this unhappy, but to

him generous woman, he kept her as a

boy keeps a young bird by the leg with

a firing, and at every moment of his

own wicked caprice, or of her apparent

pleafure, gave her a pluck. It is eafier to

imagine than to defcribe all the fecret

villainies and degradations by which fuch

a tyrant can make every moment of a

woman of feeling and refinement bitter

as death. In the firft place, Bowes carried

on the raoft licentious intercourfe with

won\en of all kinds on all fides. He

feduced almoll every maid-fervant, and all

the farmers' daughters that he could. He

expended on other women great fums in

jewellery and other extravagances ; and

cared not how much of all this came to

the knowledge of his wife. In order to

filence her, and to hold her in terrorem, as

18

Andrew Robinson Bowes Esq?

•*

well as to provide himfelf with a weapon
againft her, fhould {he at any time be
driven by defperation to feek the pro-
tection of the law againft him, he reforted
to means which only fuch an accom-
plifhed fcoundrel could imagine.

He compelled his wife to write, or
wrote it for her, the " Confefhons of the
Countefs of Strathmore," in which he
made her draw the ftrangeft picture
imaginable of herfelf and her life before
her marriage with him. That any woman
of education would voluntarily thus fketch
out a confeffion of the groffeft infamy
againft herfelf, is beyond all conception ;
and who can fay what were the fecret
tortures by which this hiftory of fhame
was wrung from this miferable woman,
when withdrawn to one of his fecret
retreats, by the man who had ftiut up his
former wife for three days, and fed her
on an egg a day ? Who can even fhape
to himfelf the long and foul-killing indig-
nities which fuch a monfter would compel
his victim to undergo, in order to effect
his diabolical purpose ? It is not men-

tioned by Mr. Foot, but we have heard
it ftated by others, that one means em-
ployed by him was to enclofe the Coun-
tefs's hair, which was long and very fine,
in a cheft, and locking it down, keep her
thus confined in a lying pofture till her
will gave way to his diabolical wifhes !
Certain it is that he accomplifhed his end.
The " Confeflions " were written ; and
were, fays Foot, "laid behind his pillow
by night, and read by him in fcraps for
his purpofes by day. He got them by
heart ; they formed part of his travelling
equipage to Paris and everywhere elfe.
They were a treafure which he hugged to
his bofom, and brooded over with a ran-
corous rapture." Nor did he forget, at
the necefTary moment, to hand them into
a public court of law againft his wife.

Mr. Foot thus defcribes the Countefs,
fix years after her marriage to Bowes :
" The Countefs, whom I had not feen
for fome time, appeared wonderfully
altered and dejected. She was pale and
nervous, and her under jaw conftantly
moved from fide to fide. If Ihe faid any-

22

thing, flie looked at him firft. If flie was
afked to drink a glafs of wine, Die took
his intelligence before flie anfwered. She
fate but a fhort time at dinner, and then
was out of my fight. I did get one
morning's walk with her and Mr. Har-
rifon, into the once beautiful pleafure-
garden, where, in fpite of the ruinous
ftate of it, much was left for admiration ;
becaufe the tafte which gave it a creation
was not as yet totally obliterated.

"The Countefs pointed out to us the
concern (he had formerly taken in the
flirubs, the flower-beds, the lawns, the
alcoves, and the walks of this moft
delectable recefs— (Paul's Walden). She
even pointed out the afliftance her own
hand had lent to individual articles. In
obferving her during the converfation, the
agitation of her mind was apparent by the
action of her mouth. She would look
for fome time, hefitate, and then her under-
jaw would act in that convulfive manner,
which abfolutely explained her ftate of
melancholy remembrance beyond all other
proofs abftradted knowledge could COn-
^S

firm, or technical teachers could demon-
ftrate."

Was there ever a more perfect deline-
ation of the effects of thofe horrors which
are, in many a folitary nook of affluence,
perpetrated by men-monfters, on that
delicate, fhrinking, fond, faithful thing, often
too forgiving, and often wondrous in patient
endurance, called — a wife? Many fuch a
fcene could we draw forth from the annals
of old Halls, that would

" Draw iron tears down Pluto's cheeks ; "

but none more perfect in its kind than the
hiftory of Stoney Bowes and his victim,
the Countefs of Strathmore. At this
very time, there was a child or children,
which Ihould have melted the heart of the
fcoundrel, if it had not been harder than
the nether millftone, and have made it
feel one fenfation of affection, at leaft to-
wards her who had endowed him with
fuch magnificent gifts. But the wretch
was one of Satan's elect ; and at this very
time he had got a new man-cook, and
was feafting and giving entertainments to

84

the neighbours in grand ftyle. Amongft
others was a moft beautiful young woman,
one of his farmer's daughters, whom he
had ruined. Her mother and filler came
after dinner, and they all drank tea with the
Countefs.

One victim was but poor employment
for Bowes. The Countefs had five chil-
dren by Lord Strathmore, and Bowes now
fet himfelf to torment the guardians by
endeavouring to get them into his hands.
The fons were totally out of reach, but
he hoped to be able to fecure the two
eldeft daughters, Lady Maria Jane and
Lady Anna Maria. To accomplifh this,
he commenced his hypocritical whinings.
All of a fudden, he appeared to be fo
tender, fo alarmed about the decay of the
Countefs's health, and the inward pinings,
pangs, and fufferings of her peace of mind,
that he actually fucceeded in getting one
of the daughters into his poffeflion, and
the other had a narrow efcape. This
efcape was owing to the firmnefs and
prudence of the guardians. They had
permitted the young lady to go to the

§5

houfe, on the plea that the very life of the
Countefs depended on feeing her children •
and there fhe was fpeedily abftra&ed from
her attendants ; they looked out, and it
was only by railing a fpeedy and thorough
alarm that me was regained. With the
other Bowes made off to Paris, taking the
Countefs along with him. His corre-
fpondence, and his endeavours to move the
Court of Chancery in his favour, by his
hypocritical lamentations over the Coun-
tefs are very curious, but they did not
avail; he was compelled to reftore the
young lady to her proper protectors, and
in no hands could the Countefs have
more dreaded their being than in thofe of
Bowes. In this caufe he employed the
profeffional powers of the greateft lawyers
of their time — Erlkine, Scott, and Law,
afterwards Lords Erlkine, Eldon, and Ellen-
borough. The time was, however, now
arriving for the occurrence of more link-
ing events in this ftrange hiftory. The
continued cruelties of Bowes at length
roufed the mind of the unhappy Countefs
to a paroxyfm of defperation, and lhe

26

determined to efcape from him and throw
herfelf under the protection of the laws.
The ftricl: watch which he and his fatellites
conftantly maintained over her, was
happily broken in upon by his going out
to dine at Captain Armftrong's, in Percy
Street. The Countefs had, at length,
found a maid who was not to be cor-
rupted by Bowes, but conceived a deep
compaffion for her unhappy lady. The
Countefs and Ihe had long planned and
concocted an efcape; the opportunity
feemed to have arrived. The male fer-
vants were defpatched on fome errand or
other. He who was appointed more
exprefsly to watch her was fent to the
ftationers for fome book of amufement
for the Countefs to read, in the abfence
of Bowes. Some doors were locked that
it might not too foon be found out that
fhe was gone ; and thus they ftole out of
the houfe and got, undifcovered, into
Oxford Street, where they had to wait a
confiderable time, no coach being upon the
ftand. They were in the greateft danger,

as Bowes had been apprifed the moment

27

their efcape was discovered, and they had
fcarcely got into a coach, when as they
came oppofite to Berner s Street, they faw
him in a hackney-coach driving very faft,
with his head out and without his hat.
Providentially he faw them not ; but the
efcape was fo narrow, that the Countefs,
in her low ftate of health, and from the
lively imagination in her mind of the
mifery which threatened her if retaken,
fell into hyfterics, and was with difficulty
perfuaded that fhe was fafe, and out of
his power.

She was conducted to Mr. Shuter s, the
barrifter, in Curfitor Street ; and an apart-
ment was taken for her in Dyers Buildings.
Bowes, in the meantime, loft not a moment
in inquiry and purfuit. On receiving the
news of what had happened, he had run
out into Oxford Street without his hat,
and driven off in a hackney-coach. He
was not long in ferreting out her retreat,
but it was not before fhe had exhibited
articles of the peace in the Court of King's
Bench againft him for ill-treatment of her

perfon, and was put under the protection

28

of the Court. But Bowes was not daunted
by that ; he took lodgings in the fame
ftreet, and watched her as a cat watches a
moufe, ready to pounce upon her. " All
the foul-weather birds," fays Foot, " were
hovering about his diftreffed houfe in
Grofvenor Square. There ufed to come,
one after another, fuch a draggled-tailed
fet as are feen in wet weather canvafling
about at elections. A more pitiable object
was never beheld than Bowes. His mind
was every moment upon fome new device ;
and although he had more than a dozen
engines at work, not one of them knew
what the other was about. He appealed
vehemently, as an injured man, to the
Courts of Chancery, of King's Bench, and
even to Doctors' Commons. He had,
however, employment enough of itfelf to
bribe all the maid-fervants and others whom
he had ruined, to filence the cries of their
diftreffed children, and to keep hunger and
ruin out of the way of any honeft justifi-
cation and ftrong temptation ; but in fpite
all this, there were funicient who found
their way to Doctors' Commons to anfwer
the Countefs's purpofe."

29

The Countefs had gone off in fuch hafte
that me fcarcely took more things with
her than (he had on her back, leaving
behind all her jewels and everything, to
fecure only the greateft jewel of all—
fafety from his tyranny. The proofs that
were exhibited againft him in Court were
of the moft horrid kind, and to feel the
force of them, we muft recollect the rank
and fenfitive mind of the Countefs, what
(he had done for Bowes, and that thefe
inflictions had been the ordinary treatment
of long years. They confifted in " beating,
fcratching, biting, pinching, whipping,
kicking, imprifoning, infulting, provoking,
tormenting, mortifying, degrading, tyran-
nifing, cajoling, deceiving, lying, forcing,
ftarving, compelling, and a new torment,
wringing of the heart." To all thefe
allegations Bowes had little to oppofe,
except thofe precious confeffions which he
had had manufactured exprefsly for such an
emergency, and which he put into the
hands of his proctor to make the moft of.

All this time, however, Bowes kept a
fharp eye on his victim. She moved from

30

refidence to refidence to elude him ; he
ftill difcovered her and took his lodgings
at hand. Her laft remove was into Blooms-
bury Square, and here he refolved to
corrupt the conftable whom the Court
had appointed to guard her. This man,
Lucas, was a highly refpe&able man, in
whom the Court had high confidence, but
Bowes did not defpair of winning him
over. "He found out where his wife
and family lived; he gratified all their
immediate wants. He made himfelf an
injured man ; he produced his credentials,
e The Confeflions ' ; and by time, and clofe
attention, foon got the wife and her
vifitors on his fide. ' Sure he is a charm-
ing man, and 'tis a fliame he fhould be fo
ufed. He is as mild and as meek as a lamb,
and as good and generous as a prince.
One of my children was ill, he faw it every
day, nurfed it, and gave it the medicines
himfelf.'" Lucas was foon a loll man ; and
the plan to carry off the Countefs was
fettled. The following is the narrative
of this Angular tranfa&ion from the Gen-
tleman s Magaxine of December, 1786.

31

" Some weeks previous to the day of
carrying into execution the confpiracy
formed againft her, feveral fufpicious per-
fons were feen lurking about her ladyfhip's
houfe in Bloomfbury Square ; and the
fame perfons were obferved frequently to
follow the carriage, fometimes in hackney-
coaches and fometimes on foot. Her
ladyfhip was not wholly unapprifed of
their attendance, nor unapprehenfive of
their defigns ; but to counteract their
meafures, flie took into her weekly pay
one Lucas, a conftable, to keep a conftant
eye on her carriage whenever flie went
out, and never to be out of call.

"This man, on the ioth November,
inquired of the coachman, as his cuftom
was, if his lady went out that day, was
anfwered in the affirmative, and received
orders to attend between one and two in
the afternoon. About that time her lady-
fhip had bufinefs at Mr. Forfter's, in Oxford
Street ; and, for company, took Mr. Farrer,
brother to her folicitor, and her maid, Mrs.
Morgan, in the coach with hei?. In their
way they met with no interruption ; but

32

they had fcarce been five minutes in the
houfe of Mr. Forfter, before fome of thofe
perfons came into the fhop who had been
marked as above, and were well-known to
her ladyfhip.

"Being much alarmed at their appearance,
lhe withdrew to an inner room and locked
the door, requefting Mr. Forfter at the
fame time to go privately and procure
afliftance, to be in readinefs for her pro-
tection, in cafe any violence lhould be
offered to her perfon.

" Mr. Forfter had fcarce left the houfe
when the conftable, whofe bufinefs it was
to watch the motions of his lady, went
up and tapped at her room door, and by
telling her his name, obtained immediate
admittance. Interrogating him as to his
bufinefs, fhe was ready to fink when fhe
was told that her ladyfhip was his prifoner
— that a warrant had been put into his
hands— that he muft do his duty, but that
it was rather fortunate for her ladyfhip,
as he would take her before Lord Manf-
field at Caen Wood, who, no doubt,
would fruftrate all the wicked purpofes

3S Q

of her enemies, and take her under his
own immediate protection. With this
artful tale, in the then ftate of her mind
{he was eafily prevailed upon to Hep again
into her coach, as Mr. Farrer was per-
mitted to accompany her. The moment
flie was feated her fervants were all
difcharged by a pretended order from
her ladyfhip, a confederate coachman
mounted the box, and a new fet of
attendants, all armed, furrounded the
coach. In this manner they proceeded,
without noife or interruption, till they
reached Highgate Hill, at the bottom of
which ftood Mr. Bowes, who, addreffing
himfelf to Mr. Farrer, very civilly re-
quefted to change places with him, and
then feated himfelf at the right hand of
his lady, who was no longer in doubt as
to his defign. The coachman was now
ordered to proceed, and to quicken his
pace.

" Mr. Farrer being now at liberty, made
all poflible hafte to London, and appli-
cation was immediately made to the Court
of King's Bench, in order to effect a

34

refcue. On Monday, the i oth, two of
Lord Mansfield's tipftaffs fet off for that
purpofe to the north. In the meantime
Mr. Bowes continued his journey.

" At Barnet, frelh horfes were ready to
put to, and a poft-chaife and four, with
ibme accomplices, were in waiting to
attend. Though the windows of the
coach were broken, and the lady in the
coach appeared in great diftrefs, yet not
the leaft effort was made to interrupt
their progrefs ; and it was not until the
next day at noon, when a fervant of Mr.
Bowes arrived at the Angel Inn, at Don-
caller, a hundred and ninety-five miles
from London, and ordered horfes to be
put to his mailer's coach, that we have any
account of their further proceedings. In
half-an-hour the coach flopped in the
ftreet ; and while the horfes were chang-
ing, Mr. Woodcock, the mailer of the inn,
handed fome cakes to Mr. Bowes, which
Mr. Bowes prefented to the lady, but
whether fhe accepted them or not he
could not pofitively aflert. The moment
the horfes were in harnefs they purfued

35

their courfe northward ; and the next
notice that we have of them was at
Branfby Moor, where the lady was mown
into a room, attended by a chambermaid,
and guarded by Mr. Bowes, who haftened
her return, and feemed all impatience till
me was again feated in the coach.

" What further paffed till they arrived
at Streatlam Caftle, in the principality of
Durham, remained a fecret till her lady-
fliip's arrival on Tuefday, the 21ft of
November, in the evening, at the houfe of
Meffrs. Farrer and Lacey, on Bread Street
Hill. The detail fhe then gave of her
fufferings, during the eleven days of ab-
fence, was truly pitiable : — At the time of
taking her away, the confederates were all
armed ; that, as they drove along, Mr.
Bowes endeavoured to perfuade her to
fign a paper, to ftop proceedings in the
Eccleliaftical Court, and to confent to live
under the name and character of his wife
— both which (he pofitively refufed to do;
that he then beat her on the face and
body with his clenched fifts ; that, when
flic attempted to cry out, he thruft a

36

handkerchief into her mouth ; that, on
the moft trifling contradiction, while on
the road, he beat her with the chain and
feals of his watch on the naked breaft ;
and that, when provoked by her firmnefs,
he prefented a loaded piftol to her head,
and threatened her life, if (he did not
inftantly fign the paper, but this me was
determined never to do.

" Being arrived at Streatlam Caftle, he
then endeavoured to perfuade her to take
upon her the government of the family,
and to a6t in every refpect as his wife,
which flie ftill moft folemnly refufed to do.
On which, in a glow of paflion, he pulled
• out a piftol, bid her fay her prayers, and,
with a trembling hand, prefented it to her
head. This, too, failing of effect, he vio-
lently beat her, then left her, and fhe faw
no more of him for a whole day ; when
coming up to the room rather more calm
than ufual, he afked her if me was not yet
reconciled to a dutiful domeftic life ? and,
being anfwered with fome afperity, he
flew into a more violent paflion than me
had ever yet feen him, pulled out his

39

piftol, bid her fay her laft prayers — flie did
fay her prayers, and then bid him fire !

" By this time the country began to be
alarmed for her, and Bowes for his own
fafety. He therefore, in order to cover
his efcape, and keep her ftill in his power,
ordered two of his domeftics to be dreffed
fo as to perfonate himfelf and her lady-
fliip, and to mow themfelves occafionally
before the windows to appeafe the popu-
lace, and to deceive his purfuers. This
ftratagem had its full efFedl; the people
were quiet while they thought her lady-
fhip was fafe ; and the fherifp s officers
who were fent to execute the attachment,
actually ferved it on the wrong perfons ;
while, in the meantime, Bowes took her
out a back way, dragged her, between ten
and eleven o'clock, in the dark, to a little
cottage in the neighbourhood, where they
fpent the remainder of the night, and
where he behaved to her in a manner
{hocking to the delicacy of civilized life,
reiterating his threatenings, and, finding
threats in vain, throwing her on the bed,
and flogging her with rods.

40

" On leaving the cottage in the morn-
ing, he had her fet on horfeback behind
him, without a pillion, and took her over
difmal heaths and tracklefs wilds, covered
with fnow, till they came to Darlington,
to the houfe of Mr. B., an attorney, where
flie was {hut up in a dark room, and where
flie was threatened (a red-hot poker being
held to her breaft) with a mad doctor and
ftrait-waiftcoat ; but all in vain.
"The hour of deliverance drew near.
Hither they had been tracked, and here it
was no longer fafe for Bowes to continue;
he therefore fet out with her before day,
in the fame manner that he brought her,
taking her over hedges and ploughed
fields, till, being feen by the hufbandmen
at work, he was fo clofely hemmed in,
that an old countryman taking hold of
his horfe's bridle, and Bowes prefenting
his piftol to frighten him, he was knocked
down by a conftable that was in purfuit
of him, and felled to the ground with a
hedge-ftake.

" Seeing him in that pofition, her lady-
fhip put herfelf under the protection of

4*

the peace-officer, and being on horfeback,
in a kind of womanilh exultation, bid him
farewell, and mend his life, and fo left
him weltering in his blood ; while fhe,
with the whole country in her favour,
made the beft of her way to London,
attended only by her deliverers, where (he
arrived fafe, as has already been ftated.

" On Wednesday the 22 nd, fhe appeared
in the Court of King's Bench, but the
Court being up, no proceedings could that
day be had on her cafe. The next day
(he was again prefented to the Court;
and afc foon as the judges were feated,
Mr. Law, her counfel, moved, ' That me
might exhibit articles of the peace againft
her hufband, A. R. Bowes.' The articles
were read, and being fworn to and figned,
an attachment was immediately granted
againft Bowes.

" On the 27th, Bowes was produced in
Court, to anfwer the articles. He was
drefled in a drab-coloured great-coat, a
red filk handkerchief about his head. He
was fupported by two men, yet nearly
bent double with weaknefs, in confequence

42 •

of his wounds. He frequently appeared
on the point of fainting, and his appear-
ance, on the whole, was the moft fqualid
and emaciated that can poflibly be imagined.

s " The upfhot of this defperate under-
taking of Bowes was, that he was
fentenced to pay a fine of £300 to his
Majefty ; to be imprifoned in the King's
Bench for three years ; at the end of that
term to find fecurity for fourteen years,
himfelf in £10,000 and two fureties of
£5,000 each. Lucas, the conftable, was
juftly fentenced to a fine of £50, and three
years' imprifonment in Newgate, and the
other accomplices to proportionate punifh-
ment. The Countefs obtained a fentence
of divorce from Doctors' Commons, and in
her exultation at her liberation, wrote the
following epitaph on the fallen villain,
and fent it by Lady Strathmore to Bowes
in the King's Bench Prifon :

HERE RESTS,

Who never refted before,

The moft ambitious of men :

43

For he fought not virtue, wifdom, nor

Science, yet rofe by deep hypocrify,

By the folly of fome,

And the vice of others,

To honours which Nature had forbade,

And riches he wanted tafte to enjoy.

He faw no faults in himfelf,
Nor any worth in others.

He was the enemy of mankind ,
Deceitful to his friends,
Ungrateful to his benefactors,
Cringing to his fuperiors,
And tyrannical to his dependants.

If intereft obliged him to affift
Any fellow-creature, he regretted* the
EffecT:, and thought every day loft
In which he made none wretched.

His life was a continual feries
Of injuries to fociety ;
Difobedience to his Maker;
And he only lamented in defpair

44

That he could offend them no longer.

He rofe by mean arts
To unmerited honours,
Which expire before himfelf.

Paffenger ! examine thy heart,
If in aught thou refembleft him ;
And if thou doft—
Read, tremble, and reform !
So fhall he, who living
Was the peft of fociety,
When dead, be againft his will
Once ufeful to mankind."

With this very pardonable acT: of triumph
over her fallen tyrant, we may here leave
this perhaps weak, but moft unfortunate
woman; a woman ftill, with talents, ac-
complifliments, and endowments of mind,
perfon, and eftate, which would have made
her under happier circumftances an orna-
ment to fociety, and a bleffing to thofe
about her. She furvived the recovery of
her freedom about four years, and it is to

45

be hoped had learned in her misfortunes
wifdom enough to make thofe clofing
years a period of peace and a pure hope
in a better exiftence. There is nothing
in romance more wild, ftrange, or harrow-
ing, than the realities of her fearful
exiftence in the hands of Andrew Stoney
Bowes. Had flie written her " Con-
feffions 99 after this period, they would
have conftituted one of the moft fearful
and interefting narratives of the fenfations
of a delicate nature and fenfitive mind,
under the Satanic power of a legal in-
quifitor, that ever was penned. As it is,
the glimpfes that we have of the inflictions
and the degradations that flie had to
endure, immured in folitary places with
that arch-villain, and furrounded eternally
by his creatures, male and female — what
flie had to fufFer in her own halls, and on
her anceftral hearth, the poffeffions of thefe
mighty old warriors of many a generation,
with which flie had endowed him ; and
his ftrange flight with her, over heaths
and mountains, over hedges and fields, in
winter, in darknefs, and in terror— now

46

mounted behind him with a blanket
inftead of a pillion, and now, with the
piftol at her head— romance has nothing
like it, but what it muft firft borrow from
fuch fcenes.